Sheep and Goats — Share in total livestock in Lesotho
Lesotho: Sheep and Goats — Share in total livestock was 42.15 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep and Goats — Share in total livestock in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
The most recent figure for sheep and goats — share in total livestock in Lesotho is 42.15 %LSU, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.9% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep and goats — share in total livestock in Lesotho peaked at 52.2 %LSU in 1966 and was at its lowest, 25.33 %LSU, in 1998.
Lesotho ranks 14th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep and Goats — Share in total livestock in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 40.89 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 43.95 %LSU | +7.5% |
| 1963 | 47.54 %LSU | +8.2% |
| 1964 | 48.28 %LSU | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 45.08 %LSU | -6.6% |
| 1966 | 52.2 %LSU | +15.8% |
| 1967 | 46.69 %LSU | -10.6% |
| 1968 | 41.29 %LSU | -11.6% |
| 1969 | 41.99 %LSU | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 40.08 %LSU | -4.5% |
| 1971 | 43.44 %LSU | +8.4% |
| 1972 | 44.3 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 42.88 %LSU | -3.2% |
| 1974 | 42.33 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 1975 | 40.69 %LSU | -3.9% |
| 1976 | 39.84 %LSU | -2.1% |
| 1977 | 33.57 %LSU | -15.7% |
| 1978 | 29.49 %LSU | -12.2% |
| 1979 | 29.46 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 31.19 %LSU | +5.9% |
| 1981 | 32.77 %LSU | +5.1% |
| 1982 | 36.74 %LSU | +12.1% |
| 1983 | 36.37 %LSU | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 36.87 %LSU | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 39.79 %LSU | +7.9% |
| 1986 | 37.75 %LSU | -5.1% |
| 1987 | 38.8 %LSU | +2.8% |
| 1988 | 38.92 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 38.36 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 36.77 %LSU | -4.1% |
| 1991 | 36.35 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 30.88 %LSU | -15.0% |
| 1993 | 30.8 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 34.47 %LSU | +11.9% |
| 1995 | 31.29 %LSU | -9.2% |
| 1996 | 30.04 %LSU | -4.0% |
| 1997 | 29.55 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 25.33 %LSU | -14.3% |
| 1999 | 28.23 %LSU | +11.4% |
| 2000 | 28.3 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 27.97 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 29.51 %LSU | +5.5% |
| 2003 | 27.73 %LSU | -6.0% |
| 2004 | 27.59 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 27.63 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 26.96 %LSU | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 26.96 %LSU | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 34.64 %LSU | +28.5% |
| 2009 | 34.34 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 33.79 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 33.25 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 32.83 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 38.93 %LSU | +18.6% |
| 2014 | 38.15 %LSU | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 38.85 %LSU | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 39.2 %LSU | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 49.08 %LSU | +25.2% |
| 2018 | 45.12 %LSU | -8.1% |
| 2019 | 47.69 %LSU | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 35.68 %LSU | -25.2% |
| 2021 | 42.32 %LSU | +18.6% |
| 2022 | 45.25 %LSU | +6.9% |
| 2023 | 42.15 %LSU | -6.9% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 42.15 %LSU is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.53 %LSU, 2.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 42.15 %LSU is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22.98 %LSU, 1.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 45.32 %LSU | 40.89 %LSU | 52.2 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 38.61 %LSU | 29.46 %LSU | 44.3 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 36.76 %LSU | 31.19 %LSU | 39.79 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.37 %LSU | 25.33 %LSU | 36.77 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.16 %LSU | 26.96 %LSU | 34.64 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.69 %LSU | 32.83 %LSU | 49.08 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.35 %LSU | 35.68 %LSU | 45.25 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 11 Mongolia 43.49 %LSU compare
- 11 Republic of Moldova 7.62 %LSU compare
- 12 Jordan 42.83 %LSU compare
- 13 Timor-Leste 4.78 %LSU compare
- 13 Yemen 42.76 %LSU compare
- 14 Melanesia 3.7 %LSU compare
- 15 Albania 40.48 %LSU compare
- 15 Polynesia 2.92 %LSU compare
- 16 Ghana 40.14 %LSU compare
- 16 Micronesia (Federated States of) 2.33 %LSU compare
- 17 Equatorial Guinea 39.03 %LSU compare
- 17 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.85 %LSU compare
More environment data for Lesotho
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.284 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.783 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.521 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4197 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep and goats — share in total livestock in Lesotho?
- Sheep and goats — share in total livestock in Lesotho was 42.15 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep and goats — share in total livestock recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 52.2 %LSU in 1966.
- What is the lowest sheep and goats — share in total livestock recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.33 %LSU in 1998.
- How does Lesotho rank for sheep and goats — share in total livestock?
- Lesotho ranks 14th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep and goats — share in total livestock rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep and Goats — Share in total livestock. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Livestock Patterns domain of FAOSTAT contains data on livestock numbers, shares of major livestock species and densities of livestock units in the agricultural land area. Values are calculated using Livestock Units (LSU), which facilitate aggregating information for different livestock types. Data are available by country, with global coverage, for the period 1961 to the most recent year available with annual updates. This methodology applies the LSU coefficients reported in the "Guidelines for the preparation of livestock sector reviews" (FAO, 2011). From this publication, LSU coefficients are computed by livestock type and by country. The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock units (=1 LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult dairy cow producing 3000 kg of milk annually, fed without additional concentrated foodstuffs. FAOSTAT agri-environmental indicators on livestock patterns closely follow the structure of the indicators in EUROSTAT.